The Rakehell Regency(340)

She came over to the bed where he lay bare under the thin sheet and kissed the back of one broad hand. "I never will. If what you felt as a younger man is anything like I feel now when I look at you, I can understand it. Except that mine is all for you, one man alone. Never Breedon or Ferncliffe or anyone else, I swear."



He caressed her cheekbone with the backs of his curled fingers. "I know, love. You're all mine. I can't believe my luck. Loving Jane, and her family, has been a great blessing, despite all the pain. But loving you is the greatest joy I could have ever asked for."



She climbed into the bed beside him and looked at him earnestly. "Even when you were going to do the brave thing and renounce me?"



Jonathan sighed, and bent his head to kiss her throat lingeringly, trying to go slowly, the bandage on her shoulder a reminder of her delicate state.



"I tell you honestly, darling girl, some days I wasn't sure I could go on without you. Only my faith kept me from doing something rash. My faith and conviction that the Lord was testing me. That if I clung to my faith, His plan would be revealed."



"And what plan was that, do you think?" she asked softly, venturing to touch one bare shoulder.



He looked up at her then, his eyes blazing fiercely. "To never ever take love for granted. To grab onto it with both hands and hold it hard, come what may. And never miss the chance to tell the people you care about how much you love them. I love you, Mrs. Deveril."



"And I you, Mr. Deveril. Or should I say the Earl of Ferncliffe?"



He shook his head. "Nay, I don't want it. Even if the worst has happened, and my friend and both his brothers are really dead, I don't want the earldom. I've never wished for a title. And never will. Perhaps for our son one day, though?"



"I can't think of anything finer than being just a Deveril."



"Superb. The more the merrier."



His mouth swooped down over hers as he kissed her deeply, until her lips parted and their tongues mingled. Pamela clung to his shoulders for support as the butterfly sensations in the pit of her stomach began to make her whole body flutter.



His lips slanted across hers, giving him fuller access to her mouth, while his hands undid the wrapped towel and slid down over the silkiness of her skin until he cupped her buttocks with both hands and pressed her hard against his maleness underneath the sheet.



Pamela's eyes flew wide, but she could feel herself burning with an inner fire which brooked no denial.



"Jonathan!" Pamela gasped against his questing mouth.



He pulled away to showered her face and throat with tender kisses. "I'm sorry, Pamela, if I shocked you. I can't help it, and I won't lie to you. I yearn for you so badly, I feel like I'm going to explode," Jonathan confessed, as his fingers ran through her blond locks lovingly, his cheek nuzzling hers.



"Then love me, now, Jonathan, please?" Pamela asked, despite her naturally virginal fears.



Jonathan paused for a moment, and then looked down into her blue eyes to see if she were completely sincere. The last thing he wanted was Pamela to offer herself up to him without being absolutely sure.



But the light that shone within her blue orbs mirrored his desire and longing too. Jonathan sighed in relief. But he wanted to hear her tell him of her need with her own lips, so that there would be no regrets on the morrow.



"You can still change your mind, Pamela, my love. I'll understand. We don't have to plunge straight in now, despite our dishabille. If you're really desirous we can lightly explore each other without taking the final step. We can wait for that until our proper wedding night," Jonathan whispered, running his thumb along the curve of her lower lip, now swollen with his kisses.



"We're married already in our hearts. I don't need the ceremony, and I'm sure God will understand the tiny lapse. I can't wait," Pamela panted, as she caressed his face. "I need to know what I've been missing all these months we've denied ourselves, when all the while my desire for you has sung in my veins."



Overjoyed, Jonathan moved the sheet to one side to hold her even more intimately. She pressed against him ardently, matching her flesh to his.



"Pamela, I would be gentle and patient with you," Jonathan groaned as she kissed him back with a passionate abandon he had only dared suspect might lurk under her calm surface, "but you're making it difficult for me to hold back."



"I promise all of myself to you, without fear or restraint," Pamela whispered, planting kisses up and down his bare neck and chest with trembling fingers.



He nearly fainted as her hand moved to cover his velvety steel. For the first time she pulled away and blushed. Eventually she glanced downwards shyly.